The Fallout of Conflux

Jacob Van LunenThursday, February 12, 2009

i folks, and welcome to another edition of Building on a Budget. Last week I asked all of you to send me an email with your favorite card from Conflux and the response was overwhelming. First off, I'd like to thank all of you for your email. Most of you explained what your favorite card was and went on to give me sample deck lists using the card. That kind of enthusiasm is pretty awesome.

Hellspark Elemental deals 3 damage for two mana. Why is this card good? No one talks about Lava Spike being awesome, and it does the same thing more often for one less mana. The thing is, the unearth ability on Hellspark Elemental is like drawing a second copy. One of the biggest problems with traditional red decks is the lack of manipulation of card quality. If someone playing red draws a few lands in a row, it probably means he or she will lose the game. Hellspark Elemental solves this problem brilliantly.

Volcanic Fallout solves a very big problem in the current Standard metagame. It's obviously a very strong anti-Faeries tool, but it also serves as a very strong tool against Kithkin, Red-White Reveillark, and White-Black Token decks. The ability to ace someone's team in response to an Ajani Goldmane activation is very important.

Now it's time to see what else fits in our new red burn deck. I've been really impressed as I've watched the Blightning archetype change from tournament to tournament these past few months. The deck is certainly one of the best choices as we're heading toward Pro Tour–Kyoto. Blightning is one of my favorite cards. It provides red decks with card advantage, an extra burn spell, and a means of disruption. I think it will be worth it to play black for cards like Blightning and the new hit from Conflux, Shambling Remains.

Shambling Remains:Shambling Remains is one of the best aggressive creatures around. It only costs three mana and it comes with four power. Having Unearth attached really pushes it over the edge. Think about the deal I'm getting here. I pay three mana for a four power creature in a red deck. After my four power creature dies I can randomly pay two mana to deal another four damage to my opponent. This seems pretty exciting to me.

Siege-Gang Commander: One of the most potent threats for its cost ever printed. I've lost many "unloseable" games to the Commander. It puts 5 points of power on the board that can't be dealt with via spot removal and if a red player ever untaps with a Siege-Gang on the table it's probably going to be the end of the game.

Blightning: Three damage and two of your opponent's cards is obviously a good deal for three mana. Make sure to sideboard this card out against decks that are packing Wilt-Leaf Liege. Getting wammied by Wilt-Leaf that turns your opponent's Doran or Rhox War Monk into Chuck Norris isn't the most fun thing in the world.

Shock, Flame Javelin, and Incinerate: Three of the most efficient burn spells Standard has to offer. If you can afford to put some Banefires into the deck I'd strongly recommend it. Banefire is one of the best cards in the new set, and if I could I would definitely find room for a playset of the most powerful burn spell in Conflux.

Volcanic Fallout: A powerful weapon against almost every deck in the format. The card is really only weak against Five-Color Control variants.

Ghitu Encampment: It's important to have reusable sources of damage. Ghitu Encampment is one of the best lands ever printed. It's very important that you have a play set of these in your aggressive red decks.

The Sideboard

Nyxathid:Nyxathid is a powerful new sideboard tool from Conflux. Against decks that empty their hand quickly it can be extremely large. When playing against opposing red decks you should try to wait until Nyxathid is a 5/5 before you play it. Most red decks will have to two-for-one themselves to deal with a 5/5 black creature. This card has a lot of synergy with our Blightnings.

Spiteful Visions: If you're playing a good amount of burn this card is very powerful. You want to side it in against decks that can't unload their hand quickly (like Five-Color Control). They can really only play one powerful spell per turn as you'll be playing multiple burn spells every turn.

Terror: I think Rhox War Monk is going to be popular in a huge way with Noble Hierarch running around. It's important for a deck like this to be able to kill the Monk before it starts getting out of hand. Terror is a fine answer and should find a home in your sideboard.

I drew for my turn: Hellspark Elemental. I knew Chris probably had main-deck Peppersmokes because we talked about how useful having a copy or two in the main deck can be. He had one black open and I decided I could pick a better spot to use my new Elemental. I played Blightning and brought Chris to 4. Almost out of cards, Chris drew a card for his turn and another card off Jace. He played a land and passed. I also drew a land. I played my land and attempted to play my Hellspark Elemental, Chris had a Spellstutter Sprite. I responded with my Flame Javelin and Chris conceded.